CHAPTER XVI BENEDICTA MAKES IT GO

 “SAY, Miss Polly, I wish you’d let me run that machine o’ yours.”

 

The girl turned from her Singer with a welcoming smile.

 

“Why, I will, Benedicta. I’ll teach you any time. It isn’t much to learn. Or if you want some stitching done, I’ll do it for you gladly.”

 

“Mercy, no!” laughed the housekeeper¹. “I manipulated that long before you was born—I mean, one just like it. What I’m yearning² for is to be sittin’ up in your chariot, makin’ it go like the dickens.”

 

“My car?—Oh!” gasped³ Polly. “I thought you meant this.”

 

“Don’t you s’pose I c’u’d learn? Or would you be afraid I’d spile it?”

 

“No, indeed! you wouldn’t hurt the car—unless you should take a flying leap down to Overlook village.”

 

“Guess I won’t cut up no such idiot caper⁴ as that,” laughed Benedicta. “But, my! if I could make it go, I’d be so imperious you’d think I belonged to the court of Spain.”

 

Polly chuckled⁵. “It is easy enough to make it[125] go,” she said, “but somewhat of a stunt⁶ to get to where you can keep it under perfect control. Still, you are quick of thought and have a level head; I don’t doubt you can make a good driver. The only trouble is, you are so fearless you might take risks; that isn’t wise. You and I will go out this afternoon and see what we can do, unless you are too tired when you get through with your work.”

 

“Tired!” sniffed⁷ Benedicta.

 

“Aren’t you—ever?” questioned Polly.

 

“Oh, I get weary occasionally; but gen’ally I keep goin’.”

 

“And you never feel that you cannot stand up another minute?”

 

“Yere, once in a while I do.”

 

“What then?”

 

“Wal,” said Benedicta slowly, “if I c’n see a place where I c’n set down, I set. But if I can’t, I just smile and go it.”

 

“Smile?”

 

“Yere. Don’t seem as if smilin’ would help out so much, but it does. Smilin’ is amazin’ly restful.”

 

“I wonder if that is how you can do so much work,” marveled Polly. “If it is, I think I will smile.”

 

“Sinners and snobs⁸! when don’t you smile? Telegraph me when ye ain’t goin’ to—I’d like to be there. I’ll have to come by lightnin’, though.”

 

She left Polly laughing, and went to finish mopping the balcony floor.

 

[126] “Benedicta and I are going down to Overlook,” was all Polly told of their plans as they set off at three o’clock.

 

“Mayn’t Grissel and I go?” begged Clementina coaxingly¹⁰.

 

“Not to-day, dearie,” was the brief answer. And Lilith, as well as the children, was surprised and a bit disappointed in view of the empty back seat. Hitherto it had been contrary to the principles of No. 45678 to run to Overlook or anywhere else with only two passengers.

 

On the level road leading through Overlook, Benedicta received her preliminary instructions and took the steering-wheel in her strong hands. She succeeded in driving the car slowly and jerkily for several rods and presently stopped with a sudden bump. Being convinced that the machine was safely at rest, she leaned back and drew a long, delighted breath.

 

“Shudders and shades!” she ejaculated; “be I still on terra firma? Ain’t it fun! But it’s deliriously¹¹ ticklish¹².”

 

Polly laughed. “You like it, then?”

 

“Like it! It’s the topgallantest play I ever tried! To think I made it go—me!”

 

“You did pretty well for the first time,” commended Polly.

 

“I should say so!” gasped Benedicta. “I never anticipated that runnin’ this chariot was so perturbative¹³.”

 

[127] “Dear, dear!” laughed Polly; “what big words you do use! You take my breath away.”

 

“Teeters and tongs¹⁴!” exclaimed Benedicta scornfully, “if you think I use lengthy¹⁵ words, you ought to hear Mr. Aimé talk. His are the grandest I ever heard. My Miss Flora¹⁶ laughs at him and says he swallowed the dictionary when he was three and has been spouting¹⁷ it up ever since. But I told him I adored his kind of talk, and from that if he didn’t begin to learn—I mean, ‘teach’—me some of his stretched-out words, and I put ’em down so I can look ’em over once in a while. But I can’t hold a spark to him. I forget ’em so. Seem ’s if my memory bag must be made of openwork, for there’s always something slippin’ out. But, my! what an improvident¹⁸ mortal I be—gabbin’ this way when I ought to be drivin’ the chariot! What do I do to start—oh, yes, I know!”

 

Polly nodded assent¹⁹ to her questioning glance, and again they whirled along the smooth road.

 

Late in the afternoon Polly drove back up the mountain; but when they were nearly within sight of home Benedicta begged so earnestly to announce her new achievement in her own way, that finally she was allowed to take the wheel.

 

“I want to sweep up to the house in one glorious curve,” she exulted²⁰. “Won’t they be surprised!”

 

So intent was the driver upon the little veranda²¹ group that she nearly forgot her part in[128] the affair. The machine wabbled along in a most inglorious way, tilted²² into a gully beside the road, and began slipping slowly downhill.

 

“Put your foot on the brake!” cried Polly, grasping the emergency lever and forcing it back.

 

The car meekly²³ stopped.

 

“Sinners and snobs!” exclaimed Benedicta. “And I’m the sinner!—and the snob⁹ too! Let me get out! Let me get out!”

 

“Never mind,” comforted Polly; “sit still and turn the car into the road—you can do it. Put your foot—”

 

But Benedicta was on the ground, and running towards the kitchen door.

 

Polly drove the car into the garage and then followed the disquieted²⁴ housekeeper.

 

1 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

2 yearning   

a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的

参考例句：

• a yearning for a quiet life 对宁静生活的向往
• He felt a great yearning after his old job. 他对过去的工作有一种强烈的渴想。

3 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 caper   

v.雀跃，欢蹦；n.雀跃，跳跃；续随子，刺山柑花蕾；嬉戏

参考例句：

• The children cut a caper in the yard.孩子们在院子里兴高采烈地乱蹦乱跳。
• The girl's caper cost her a twisted ankle.小姑娘又蹦又跳，结果扭伤了脚踝。

5 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

6 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

7 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 snobs   

（谄上傲下的）势利小人( snob的名词复数 )； 自高自大者，自命不凡者

参考例句：

• She dislikes snobs intensely. 她极其厌恶势利小人。
• Most of the people who worshipped her, who read every tidbit about her in the gossip press and hung up pictures of her in their rooms, were not social snobs. 崇敬她大多数的人不会放过每一篇报导她的八卦新闻，甚至在他们的房间中悬挂黛妃的画像，这些人并非都是傲慢成性。

9 snob   

n.势利小人，自以为高雅、有学问的人

参考例句：

• Going to a private school had made her a snob.上私立学校后，她变得很势利。
• If you think that way, you are a snob already.如果你那样想的话，你已经是势利小人了。

10 coaxingly   

adv. 以巧言诱哄，以甘言哄骗

参考例句：

11 deliriously   

adv.谵妄（性）；发狂；极度兴奋/亢奋；说胡话

参考例句：

• He was talking deliriously. 他胡说一通。 来自互联网
• Her answer made him deliriously happy. 她的回答令他高兴得神魂颠倒。 来自互联网

12 ticklish   

adj.怕痒的；问题棘手的；adv.怕痒地；n.怕痒，小心处理

参考例句：

• This massage method is not recommended for anyone who is very ticklish.这种按摩法不推荐给怕痒的人使用。
• The news is quite ticklish to the ear,这消息听起来使人觉得有些难办。

13 perturbative   

adj.烦扰性的，扰乱性的

参考例句：

• Studying QCD vacuum properties and non-perturbative QCD is a very important issue for strongly interacting processes. 研究QCD真空性质和非微扰QCD对于强相互作用过程来说是一个非常重要的问题。 来自互联网

14 tongs   

n.钳；夹子

参考例句：

• She used tongs to put some more coal on the fire.她用火钳再夹一些煤放进炉子里。
• He picked up the hot metal with a pair of tongs.他用一把钳子夹起这块热金属。

15 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

16 flora   

n.(某一地区的)植物群

参考例句：

• The subtropical island has a remarkably rich native flora.这个亚热带岛屿有相当丰富的乡土植物种类。
• All flora need water and light.一切草木都需要水和阳光。

17 spouting   

n.水落管系统v.（指液体）喷出( spout的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水

参考例句：

• He's always spouting off about the behaviour of young people today. 他总是没完没了地数落如今年轻人的行为。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Blood was spouting from the deep cut in his arm. 血从他胳膊上深深的伤口里涌出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 improvident   

adj.不顾将来的，不节俭的，无远见的

参考例句：

• Her improvident speech at the meeting has set a stone rolling.她在会上的发言缺乏远见，已产生严重后果。
• He must bear the consequences of his improvident action.他必须对自己挥霍浪费所造成的后果负责。

19 assent   

v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• I cannot assent to what you ask.我不能应允你的要求。
• The new bill passed by Parliament has received Royal Assent.议会所通过的新方案已获国王批准。

20 exulted   

狂喜，欢跃( exult的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The people exulted at the victory. 人们因胜利而欢腾。
• The people all over the country exulted in the success in launching a new satellite. 全国人民为成功地发射了一颗新的人造卫星而欢欣鼓舞。

21 veranda   

n.走廊；阳台

参考例句：

• She sat in the shade on the veranda.她坐在阳台上的遮荫处。
• They were strolling up and down the veranda.他们在走廊上来回徜徉。

22 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

23 meekly   

adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地

参考例句：

• He stood aside meekly when the new policy was proposed. 当有人提出新政策时，他唯唯诺诺地站 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He meekly accepted the rebuke. 他顺从地接受了批评。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 disquieted   

v.使不安，使忧虑，使烦恼( disquiet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• People are disquieted [on tenterhooks]. 人心惶惶。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The bad news disquieted him. 恶讯使他焦急不安。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》